Monday, August 9, 2010

On the way to work I hear this story about how we are fat. Well, honestly I know that I'm fat. Not fat guy big, well I guess that term is relative. I'm not like those fat people they show on TV or in print. If that means anything. They also lauded Colorado, because it had the lowest percentage of fat, or obese people. I feel somewhat accosted by all of this. I'm 6'4" and 275 lbs. Do you know how much weight I'd have to lose? About 75 pounds (that is to be considered "normal" 25 pounds if I just want to be "overweight"). Now I know I could stand to lose 10-20 pounds, but I don't see how in the hell I could ever lose 75.

I'd be miserable. I only eat twice a day (yes I know, that messes up my metabolism) because I'm a type 1 diabetic. I have to account for every carbohydrate ingested. So I just don't know what to think about being fat, if I'm listening to someone who may or may not suffer from the same condition.

Back to Colorado. I've lived there, specifically the Denver area. It gets hot there, but it is a dry heat. Right now we've been under a heat advisory since April, or whatever (yes I meant it in jest, but it is hot in the south). And though I see plenty of walking trails... or sidewalks, who the hell would walk on them in the heat of the day? I know it will not be me. I've been a heat casualty before, I don't want to go through that again.

I don't look fat, I mean, I look big, I am big, but aside from a bit of a pooch around my belly (probably a little too much beer) I look normal, no triple chin, no thunder thighs, I don't need a horn to back up, I can see my feet, with the exception of the beer gut, I seem to be normal, hell I test normal too my cholesterol is 154 (with the help of cholesterol meds because of my stroke, I'll always take it).

Which brings me to the whole cost thing, well according to the BMI thing, I have been overweight for some time. So this is to blame for my diabetes? I thought it was because my white blood cells saw my pancreas as an enemy. Now I know it was just because I was fat. The stroke too, I think it was because I gave myself too much insulin. Nope it was because I was fat... Whatever.

It goes on to talk about kids. All of my kids are normal to underweight and they eat the exact same stuff I eat. Do I think that there is a problem with obesity? Surely. But unless we can look at it from just a perspective of numbers and charts we will never solve this problem. And really I have a problem with the numbers anyway, my kids are underweight, while I am obese, I know that it really doesn't add up, so I take it with a grain of salt, but still the problem, if there is one, won't be fixed by only looking to lower BMI.

In fact I've done a little hurting around and I found this site and this site (politics aside) seem to have a much different take on the "obesity epidemic". So now I'm even more confused then when I heard the story on the radio. I am, I am not... who cares at this point? All this is really doing is elevating my anxiety level, and that is never good.